The Cathedral of Florence is a complex of religious buildings that includes the cathedral itself (Santa Maria del Fiore), the Baptistery of St. John, and Giotto's Campanile. The cathedral features a massive brick dome designed by Filippo Brunelleschi that was the largest dome ever built when completed in the 15th century. The complex sits in the Piazza del Duomo and represents some of the finest examples of Italian Gothic and Renaissance architecture.
2. Cathedral of florence
The cathedral of is divided in seven parts parts:
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1 2
The Cathedral ( interior The façade The dome
and exterior)
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4 5
Florence Baptistery
The crypt The main portal
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Giotto's Campanile
3. Principal information
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background leaving the terracotta rooftops. Up
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4. The cathedral (interior and exterior)
The Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore (English: Basilica
of Saint Mary of the Flower) is the main church
of Florence, Italy. TheDuomo, as it is ordinarily called,
was begun in 1296 in the Gothic style to the design
of Arnolfo di Cambio and completed structurally in
1436 with the dome engineered by Filippo
Brunelleschi.
5. The cathedral (interior and exterior)
The exterior of the basilica is faced
with polychrome marble panels in various shades of
green and pink bordered by white and has an
elaborate 19th century Gothic Revival façade
by Emilio De Fabris.
6. The cathedral (interior and exterior)
The cathedral complex, located in Piazza del Duomo,
includes the Baptistery and Giotto's Campanile. The
three buildings are part of the UNESCO World
Heritage Site covering the historic centre of
Florence and are a major attraction to tourists visiting
the region ofTuscany. The basilica is one of Italy's
largest churches, and until development of new
structural materials in the modern era, the dome was
the largest in the world. It remains the largest brick
dome ever constructed.
The cathedral is the mother church of the Roman
Catholic Archdiocese of Florence, whose archbishop is
currently Giuseppe Betori.
7. The façade :
The original façade, designed by Arnolfo di Cambio
and usually attributed to Giotto, was actually begun
twenty years after Giotto's death.[citation needed] A
mid-15th century pen-and-ink drawing of this so-
called Giotto's façade is visible in the Codex Rustici,
and in the drawing of Bernardino Poccetti in 1587,
both on display in the Museum of the Opera del
Duomo.
8. The façade
This façade was the collective work of several artists,
among them Andrea Orcagna andTaddeo Gaddi. This
original façade was only completed in its lower portion
and then left unfinished. It was dismantled in 1587-1588
by the Medici court architect Bernardo Buontalenti,
ordered by Grand Duke Francesco I de' Medici, as it
appeared totally outmoded in Renaissance times.
9. The façade
In 1864, a competition was held to design a new façade
and was won by Emilio De Fabris (1808–1883) in 1871.
Work began in 1876 and completed in 1887. This neo-
gothic façade in white, green and red marble forms a
harmonious entity with the cathedral, Giotto's bell tower
and the Baptistery, but some think it is excessively
decorated.
The whole façade is dedicated to the Mother of Christ.
10. The dome
The cathedral of Florence is built as a basilica, having a wide central
nave of four square bays, with an aisle on either side. The chancel
and transepts are of identical polygonal plan, separated by two
smaller polygonal chapels. The whole plan forms a Latin cross. The
nave and aisles are separated by wide pointed Gothic arches resting
on composite piers.
The dimensions of the building are enormous: length 153 metres
(502 ft), width 38 metres (124 ft), width at the crossing 90 metres
(295 ft). The height of the arches in the aisles is 23 metres (75 ft). The
height from pavement to the opening of the lantern in the dome is
also 90 metres (295 ft).
11. The Dome
By the beginning of the fifteenth century, after a hundred
years of construction, the structure was still missing its
dome. The basic features of the dome had been designed
by Arnolfo di Cambio in 1296. His brick model, 4.6 metres
(15 ft) high 9.2 metres (30 ft) long, was standing in a side
aisle of the unfinished building, and had long ago become
sacrosanct. It called for an octagonal dome higher and
wider than any that had ever been built, with no external
buttresses to keep it from spreading and falling under its
own weight.
12. Plan of the church with
various extension phases
Section of the dome
of Florence Cathedral.
holy reparata
the draft Alforno exchange
magnifications francesco talents (current
plan)
13. The dome Piazzale Michelangelo
The Duomo viewed from the heights of
The commitment to reject traditional Gothic buttresses had
been made when Neri di Fioravante's model was chosen over a
competing one by Giovanni di Lapo Ghini. That architectural
choice, in 1367, was one of the first events of the
Italian Renaissance, marking a break with the Medieval
Gothic style and a return to the classic Mediterranean dome.
Italian architects regarded Gothic flying buttresses as ugly
makeshifts and since the use of buttresses was forbidden in
Florence, in addition to being a style favored by central Italy's
traditional enemies to the north.
14. The crypt
The cathedral underwent difficult excavations between 1965 and
1974. The subterranean vaults were used for the burial of Florentine
bishops throughout the centuries.The archaeological history of this
huge area was reconstructed through the work of Dr Franklin Toker:
remains of Roman houses, an early Christian pavement, ruins of the
former cathedral of Santa Reparata and successive enlargements of
this church. Close to the entrance, in the part of the crypt open to
the public, is the tomb of Brunelleschi. While its location is
prominent, the actual tomb is simple and humble. That the architect
was permitted such a prestigious burial place is proof of the high
esteem he was given by the Florentines.[Also buried in the former
cathedral of Santa Reparata was Conrad II of Italy.
15. The main portal
The three huge bronze doors date from 1899 to 1903. They are
adorned with scenes from the life of the Madonna. The mosaics in
the lunettes above the doors were designed by Niccolò Barabino.
They represent (from left to right): Charity among the founders of
Florentine philanthropic institutions, Christ enthroned with Mary and
John the Baptist, and Florentine artisans, merchants and humanists.
The pediment above the central portal contains a half-relief by Tito
Sarrocchi ofMary enthroned holding a flowered scepter. Giuseppe
Cassioli sculpted the right hand door.
On top of the facade is a series of niches with the twelve Apostles
with, in the middle, the Madonna with Child. Between the rose
window and the tympanum, there is a gallery with busts of great
Florentine artists.
16. Florence Baptistery or st John baptistery
The Florence Baptistry or Battistero di San
Giovanni (Baptistry of St. John) is a religious building
in Florence (Tuscany), Italy, which has the status of
a minor basilica.The octagonal Baptistry stands in both
the Piazza del Duomo and the Piazza di San Giovanni,
across from the Duomo cathedral and the Giottobell
tower (Campanile di Giotto). It is one of the oldest
buildings in the city, built between 1059 and 1128. The
architecture is in Florentine renaissance style.
17. Giotto's Campanile
Giotto’s Campanile is a free-
standing campanile that is part of the
complex of buildings that make
up Florence Cathedral on the Piazza del
Duomo in Florence, Italy.
Standing adjacent the Basilica of Santa
Maria del Fiore and the Baptistry of St.
John, the tower is one of the showpieces
of the Florentine Gothic architecture with
its design by Giotto, its rich sculptural
decorations and the polychrome marble
encrustations.
This slender structure stands on a square
plan with a side of 14.45 meters
(47.41 ft). It attains a height of 84.7
meters (277.9 ft) sustained by four
polygonal buttresses at the
corners. These four vertical lines are
crossed by four horizontal lines, dividing
the tower in five levels.